Meditations
by ahsatanseesnatasha
Summary: Sq. to Strum.  What happens when Raven finds out about what Jericho did and when Starfire learns of a relationship that once existed between Robin and Blackfire?  T for lsight sexuality.  RobxStarxBlackfirexOC BBxRae, mostly RobxStarxBlackfirexOC
1. Chapter 1

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," hummed two voices inside of Raven's room in perfect unison. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

For the last couple months, everything in the T Tower was going beautifully. Robin, as promised, now confided in Starfire, who now flew and fought better than ever. Raven and Beast Boy actually meditated together, and he'd actually gotten her to play a video game once (even though she didn't enjoy it.) Even though they weren't yet a "couple" and hadn't been out on a date, they were still closer than ever. Most of the time, Cyborg was somewhere with Bumblebee. Not to mention, their fighting seemed to be flawless.

"Raven?" said Beast Boy, opening an eye. Raven sighed angrily and stopped chanting.

" This is why I didn't used to let you meditate with me. You have absolutely _no_ attention span."

"I—sorry—I was just wondering…Are we _ever_ going to go out on a date?"

"We've been over this, Beast Boy."

"But all you said was 'someday'."

"And that's what I mean."

"Well, isn't today a day?"

"Beast Boy—''

"I just don't get why you won't go out with me!"

"I'm meditating now, so you can just keep talking but I'm not going to listen. Azarath Metrion—''

"Raven—come on, just—''

"—Zinthos. Azarath—''

"Raven—''

"—Metrion—''

"_Come on_!"

"—Zinthos. Azarath—'' But Beast Boy stopped her before she could finished. He kissed her on the lips, lightly, but enough to make her shut up for just a few seconds. She looked a little annoyed when he backed away from her, but he was pretty sure she was just faking. She didn't look annoyed like she normally did, at least.

"Raven, _please_ go out with me?" Raven sighed, glaring at him a bit.

"You're…incessant."

"You bet I am!"

"Do you even know what that means, Beast Boy?"

"That isn't important! What's important is that I want you to go out with me!"

"Apparently." Raven paused, and, again, sighed, then said in her dark, gravely voice: "Fine."

"Huh?" said Beast Boy, astounded. "Seriously?"

"Yes."

"Awesome!" screeched Beast Boy, his voice high and squeaky as always.

"Now can I _please_ continue meditating?"

"Oh! Yeah! Right!" Beast Boy crossed his legs and closed him eyes.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," they said in unison. Meditating was the last thing Beast Boy wanted to do right now, but he figured he should probably behave himself while he was ahead.


	2. A Message

**AN: First of all, I'd just like to day that if you haven't read my other story, "Strum", you should—now—before you read this. **

**Also, Id just like to say thanks for the reviews on Strum. Keep 'em coming, I love your feedback!**

"The Alps, The Balkans, The Himalayas, The Manaslu, The Rockies, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount McKinley, Mount Aconcagua, Mount Elbrus, even places in Antarctica, he's attacked all of them….Do you think he could just be after mountains?"

"I do not know, Robin. Why would he dislike the mountains?"

"I don't know, Starfire. For all I know he could just be afraid of heights."

"But, Robin, I do not understand! Slade has been in high places numerous times—''

"I was being sarcastic, Star."

"Oh." Robin was pacing his room madly, and Starfire was sitting on his bed, now looking a little sad. Robin could tell he'd made her feel stupid.

"Sorry, I know I shouldn't—''

"No, Robin, I need to understand your earth ways. Please do not feel bad about confusing me."

"I bet he's still after Jericho, though. He's probably just tracking him."

"Jericho is…_Not_ a nice boy. I do not think he deserves to be tracked."

"That could be why he's being tracked, Star. Slade might want to use him against us."

"I do not understand why they are such mean people."

"Yeah, me either, Star." Ever since Jericho left the T Tower, Slade's attacks on mountains got increasingly ruthless, and the time between the attacks started getting shorter and shorter. Not to mention the fact that he hadn't threatened the Titans in months—that was what really irritated Robin.

"I…Um…" said Robin, nervously trying to slide into a topic he'd been avoiding all day, "I got a message from…Um…Blackfire last night."

"But Robin, Blackfire is in a maximum security jail!"

"Yeah—I didn't open it, so I don't know how she sent it. Do you want to see it?"

"Yes, I do! I need to know how that slorkalblad got the means to send you a message even though she is in jail!" Starfire's eyes flared green.

"Okay," Robin said warily. Nervously, he clicked on the message she'd sent to him on his computer. Its window opened, and not only was it a message, it was also a video. How she got the technology for that in a jail Robin couldn't even imagine.

"Hey, Robin!" said Blackfire in her normal silky, casual voice. She looked just as good as ever, and her cell actually appeared to be decorated with a somewhat-nice blanket, fluffy pillows, and curtains. Robin couldn't help noticing that she was also dressed in clothes even nicer than what she had usually worn when she stayed with the Titans instead of the gray jumpsuits that all the other prisoners were wearing in their cells. This girl had connections—Robin couldn't help being just a little impressed at how she'd even managed to wrap the guards around her finger.

"I persuaded one of the guards to lend me this camera and his computer, because I was just dying to talk to you." She flashed a smile. "Anyway, so how's my little sister doing? Still as stupid and confused as usual? Don't bother telling me. I don't care.

"What I _do_ care about, though, is you." Blackfire now slightly pouted. "I miss you _so much_. Maybe you could help me convince these guards that I'm really not a bad person so they'd let me get out of here and we could start back where we left off? Don't act like that doesn't entice you, Robin, because we _both_ know it does."

"Hey beautiful," said a man from off camera, "I need my camera back. Warden's gonna catch you."

"Just a minute!" she called seductively, then looked back at the camera, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry, he's just a guard. The idiot thought I wasn't kissing him just to use the camera.

"Well, I guess I'd better be off now, Robin. Please, consider this? You know we both want it…Bad." She winked at him, then said, "Oh!" and held her hand up, the back of it facing the camera. On her ring finger, she had a huge, sparkly purple ring that Robin couldn't stop staring at. "Like it?" Blackfire asked. "It's another thing I got from one of the guards. I didn't exactly have to kiss him, but it was _so_ worth it." The transmission ended with her chuckling darkly.

"Robin?" said Starfire after a long pause. "What did she mean by—''

"Nothing, Star. I have no idea what she meant."

"But she—''

"I _don't know what she meant_, okay? Now let's go back to tracking down Slade. He's more important…"


	3. Sheer Terror

"Cyborg! Beast Boy! Raven!" called Starfire, flying down the hall to the living room nervously. All three of them were sitting on the couch—Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing video games, Raven sitting next to Beast Boy reluctantly. Every few seconds, Beast Boy would slightly elbow Raven who, taking an obvious cue, would unenthusiastically say, "Go Beast Boy. Yay."

"Friends!" said Starfire, standing firmly in front of the TV ("Oh, come on!" "Get out of the way, Star!" "I was just about to win!" "If I lose this game because of you, Star—'' Angry calls from the guys flooded the living room) "I have a question of the utmost importance for you!"

"Star, we're in the middle of a game!"

"Yeah, c'mon Star—''

"He's almost dead—''

"I was just about to win—''

"PLEASE BE QUIET!" Starfire yelled, immediately silencing everyone. "I believe I have already said that I have a question of the utmost importance!"

"Well, um, what is it, Star?" said Cyborg after a long, shocked pause.

"Robin has received a transmission from my sister."

"Oh no," said Raven, the "oh" very, very long and the "no" very, very short. Starfire continued.

"And she told him that they should 'start back where they left off'. Please tell me what is going on here."

"So, Raven," said Beast Boy quickly, "Ready for that date?"

"Yes, I am _definitely_ ready for that date."

"Well! We're going on a date! Cyborg, you go on and tell her about it, okay, buddy?"

"But—'' but the two of them were already out the door. Cyborg sighed. "Starfire, I can't tell you. It's not any of my business what Robin and Blackfire did—''

"What do you mean, 'What Robin and Blackfire did'? Did they…Do something?"

"Starfire, don't you mess up what I said! All I said is that I am not allowed to tell you anything—''

"So, then, Robin is keeping something about him and Blackfire from me, correct?"

"No—I mean, yes—I mean—Starfire—!''

"Please, if Robin is keeping a secret from me I would like to know it." Cyborg paused.

"Fine. But don't you _ever_ tell Robin I told you. You, um, might wanna sit down for this one." Star looked confused, but sat.

"See, when Blackfire first came here, she and Robin…Um…Had…A…Thing."

"What kind of a 'thing'?"

"A…thing…Like…Like what you and Robin have now, except you actually care about Robin. Blackfire didn't."

"You mean…My sister was…Robin's…Girlfriend?" Starfire looked crushed.

"Well, I wouldn't say _girlfriend_, she just sort of, um…They just…She…She convinced him, and he—he's a teenage boy, Starfire, you've gotta cut him some clack—and so—'' But Cyborg stopped out of sheer terror. Starfire's eyes were blazing green and her breathing was getting heavier with rage.

"_There will be pain_!" she whispered angrily, standing up and marching to Robin's room, her footsteps so heavy they echoed. Cyborg gulped out of anxiousness for Robin. He wanted to warn him so bad, but that would mean going in front of Starfire…Maybe Robin didn't need to be warned…


	4. Parallels

"So…Where are we going?" asked Raven, now recovering her shock and realizing what she had just agreed to. Her and Beast Boy were speeding away from the tower in one of Cyborg's cars (he would understand in this situation) in what appeared to be a random direction. Even though Raven (usually) enjoyed Beast Boy's company, even though Beast Boy was her only comfort when Jericho had left her, even though Beast Boy was the only one who seemed to even try to incorporate her into the activated of the rest of the Titans, she could never, ever see herself in a relationship with him. She wasn't even a relationship person—the only reason she'd done what she had with Jericho was because she truly loved him, and she _thought_ he had loved her. A part of her still thought he might, even though she knew she was wrong. The fact that the one person she could ever see herself with had left her right after what Raven had actually called in her deluded state of mind "making love" (which she now knew was obviously just sex) was _not_ helping her view on relationships.

"Huh?" said Beast Boy unintelligibly. He wasn't exactly helping, either. His absent-mindedness could often be endearing, but it usually just made him look like a moron.

"_Where are we going_?"

"Oh. Right. Um…Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere but back there…"

"Dude, I know!" he exclaimed, his eyes huge in disbelief. "Have you ever seen her like that? It was so _freaky_!"

"Yes, very…Freaky."

"She's hardcore, man. She's totally, like, head over heels for him."

"I just hope she understands that he wouldn't try to hurt her."

"She isn't dumb—she knows Robin loves her. And besides, it totally wasn't his fault."

"Not…His fault?"

"Well, yeah!" Beast Boy took a sharp left turn. Did he even attempt to use a blinker? "You saw how she was all…Like…Being…Around him!"

"It's not like he didn't have any say in it…" Raven blushed. Her stomach churned…This conversation was hitting a little too close to home.

"But he's a teenager! And a _dude_! Trust me; he probably just couldn't…Control himself."

"If he really didn't want to he wouldn't have done anything."

"Raven, _please_. That was _all_ Blackfire and you know it! I'm surprised he didn't, like, run away she did that to the poor guy."

"You're surprised he didn't…What?" Raven was going to throw up. She could feel it creeping up her throat. But it didn't feel like vomit…And the wetness of her eyes didn't feel like they were there out of the physical pain. Oh, gross. She was going to _cry_. That was even worse, ew.

"I'm surprised he didn't run aw—oh, Raven, I'm so sorry, you know I didn't mean it like that, I didn't—I mean—I'm sorry—he—I—we shouldn't—I don't know what to say—I'm sorry for—are you okay?—do you—are—I'm sorry—'' Everything came in one big slurred rush. Raven wanted to tell him "It's okay," or "I'm fine," or anything, but she just couldn't. She was too mad at him right now.

"You know I'd never say anything to hurt you, Raven. I'm sorry it ever came up. You know I didn't mean it like that." It was a stop light. Beast Boy looked at her sadly, and lightly lifted her chin up so she was looking at him.

"You know that, right?" he said softly.

"I know," she said half-heartedly, but when Beast Boy pulled into a parking lot she knew he was telling the truth. He'd taken her to her favorite coffee shop. In the window hung a sign that said "POETRY SLAM AND OPEN MIC—ALL DRINKS JUST $2, $1 IF YOU GO ON STAGE!"

"You…You know I like this place?" she asked, almost confused.

"Of course I do. You told me one time this place had the 'Deepest souls and blackest coffee' of all the local coffee houses, remember?" A direct quote. Raven was moved.

"Yeah, Beast Boy," she said, opening her door, "I remember."


	5. Sheer Terror, Part II

"ROBIN!" yelled Starfire, slamming on his door. "ROBIN, PLEASE OPEN YOUR DOOR _IMMEDIATELY_! ROBIN! ROBIN!" Cyborg had gone back to his room, retrieved his communicator, and panicked into it to Robin, who was somehow even more frightened now, even though he had locked all of the lock on his door, and backed those locks up with a dresser, a stereo, and a desk. He could practically feel Starfire's shining eyes through his reinforcements. He knew if she decided to use her star bolts, they would not stand up against her.

"Cyborg, if I make it out of this alive, _I will kill you_," he whispered angrily into the communicator.

"I know man, and I'd deserve it!"

"It'll be slow and painful, too!"

"I'd deserve every second!"

"Yeah, you're damn straight you would!"

"ROBIN, I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU OPEN THE DOOR THIS MINUTE!"

"Aw, Robin, she's gonna use the star bolts!"

"What do I do?!"

"I don't know!"

"ROBIN, I AM VERY, VERY ANGRY WITH YOU!"

"Man, just open the door before this gets messy!"

"No _way_!"

"ROBIN, I WILL GIVE YOU UNTIL I HAVE FINISHED COUNTING TO THREE!"

"Man, you've gotta open your door!"

"She'll kill me!"

"ONE!"

"Open the door!"

"No!"

"TWO!"

"She's gonna blow the whole tower up!"

"Let her, I wanna live!"

"TWO AND A ZBLORK!"

"Aw, man, what does that mean?! I don't like the sound of it!"

"She's counting, you idiot!"

"TWO AND A VORTKIR!"

"_Open the door_!"

"Fine!" Robin sprinted to his door, undid all the locks, and moved all the furniture out of the way.

"Um…Hey, Star," he greeted her nervously, panting.

"_Hey_, Robin," she said, glaring. Her gleaming eyes were definitely not a good sign.

"Um, come in…"

"I _will_," she said, shoving him out of the way and marching into his room, her eyes still bright green.

"Robin? Robin? Robin, man, what's going on? Did you open the door? Please tell me you opened the door! Robin? Robin!" Cyborg's static voice was abruptly shut off as Starfire broke it to pieces with one perfectly accurate star bolt.

"Starfire, please, I didn't—''

"No! You are _not_ allowed to speak!" Robin closed his mouth. She pushed him violently onto his bed as she started pacing.

"Star—''

"My _sister_, Robin! She is my _sister_! And she is a bad, bad person! A very, very, very bad person!"

"Star, I didn't know—''

"Do not say you did not know! You knew quite well she was my sister, and I tried for a very long time to tell you that she is not a good person, but you would not listen to me!"

"Star, we only—well—I mean, it didn't mean anything—''

"Are you telling me that you would do that with somebody if it did not mean anything to you?! Does that mean that we—''

"I mean, it meant nothing to her!"

"So then she _did_ mean something to you!"

"Yes—I mean, no—Star—''

"Well, did she or did she not?!"

"She did, now she doesn't! I was wrong, okay? I was wrong and I did a horrible thing, and I'm _sorry_ because I know how wrong it was nad I promise I'll never do it again!"

"Of course you will not! My sister is in jail! What concerns me so is that you have kept this as a secret from me for a very long time even though I tell you _everything_!"

"I just—I didn't want to upset you—''

"It upsets me far greater now than it would have then!"

"Well, I can see that now, but—I mean—I don't know what to do to tell you how sorry I am because no matter what I say it comes out wrong and you make it sound bad! What can I say to make this better?"

"You cannot say anything, Robin."

"Star, what…What do you mean?"

"I mean that I think we need to…What is the phrase? 'Go our separate ways', correct?"

"No! No, _not_ correct!"

"Well, please excuse my poor grammar but I believe you understand what I mean!"

"Star, please, you can't—''

"I can, Robin, and I am!"

"ROBIN, DID YOU OPEN THE DOOR?!" came a voice from Cyborg, who slammed open the door. Starfire wheeled around at him, glaring with those gleaming green eyes. "AH!" he screamed, and ran the opposite direction.

"Now, please do not disturb me while I go try to subdue my rage!"

"Don't worry, I won't," said Robin, almost in a whisper. There was no way this could be real. It was impossible. But as Starfire flew swiftly and ferociously out of his room, he knew that he was wrong.


	6. Beast Boy's Poem

"I've never written a poem

But I'm standing up here in a club

Um…Trying to think of…a poem

And not look like a…flub

And Raven looks kind of shocked

But I…Don't really blame her

'Cause this poem is kind of...mocked

They offered me $1 drinks, I said, 'sure'.

So that's why I'm up here on stage

And she must think I'm an idiot

I'm pretty afraid

La, la, la, la…squid…iot. Thank you!" Scattered confused applause filled the coffee house. Raven buried her hands as her walked back over to her.

"Pretty good, huh?" said Beast boy, smiling broadly as he sat next to her.

"That was…Mortifying."

"Aw, come on! It wasn't that bad."

"Yes, it was."

"It was funny."

"No, it wasn't."

"It was a _little_ funny."

"No, it wasn't."

"Oh, come on, Raven! I got you $1 drinks for that!" Raven sighed.

"It was a _little_ funny."

"Aw, just a little funny?"

"It was very funny, Beast Boy."

"See, I told you! Now, what is there to get at this place other than that gross black stuff?"

"I…Really don't think you'll like anything here, Beast Boy."

"For $1, I need to try _something_."

"Well, then, I don't know…Ask them for a…Caramel…Chocolate…Vanilla…Sugary…Blended…Thing. With soymilk."

"Sounds good!" Beast Boy walked over to the counter.

"Hey, my little improviser," said the tired-looking fried-haired eyeliner-clad girl behind the counter with a voice somehow even flatter than Raven's. "What can I get you?'

"Yeah, I'd like a Caramel Chocolate Vanilla Sugary Blended Thing with Soymilk, please."

"Um…A _what_?"

"A Caramel Chocolate Vanilla Sugary Blended Thing with Soymilk."

"Uh…Coming right up…That'll be a dollar…" Beast Boy slapped it on the counter, and put a quarter in the tip jar; the girl shook her head and sighed, looking at the syrup bottles sadly. Her mind tried to add the ingredients (caramel + chocolate + sugar + soymilk + sugar + thing …_what_?) but nothing seemed to calculate correctly. After a few baffled seconds, she just started throwing things into the blender. It took about three minutes for it to be finished, then Beast Boy enthusiastically thanked her and took a huge swig.

"RAVEN!" he exclaimed happily, almost running back over to the table, "YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS! IT'S THE BEST THINGI 'VE EVER HAD IN MY WHOLE LIFE!" Raven sighed and took a teensy sip of the noxious concoction. Her face scrunched up in disgust—it was so sweet it literally hurt her teeth.

"ISN'T IT SO GOOD?!"

"It's _disgusting_."

"Better than your gross black stuff." Raven sighed again. The emcee went back on stage, and said, gloomily, "Ladies and gentleman, a song from—'' but Raven didn't catch his name; she was too busy looking at him. The boy walked on stage and sat awkwardly on a stool with an acoustic guitar on his thigh. He had blond hair and green eyes, and for a second Raven actually though he might be back, but she knew that was a stupid thing to even think. At second glance, he didn't look anything like Jericho, but it still made her nauseas.  
"Hey, Raven," said Beast Boy sympathetically, "wanna go see a movie?"

"That sounds…great."


	7. The Truth

The movie was mediocre at best, but Beast Boy had enjoyed it completely. They'd completely forgotten about what was going on in the tower when they walked in, still talking about the movie.

"And they were all like, pew pew pew!" Beast Boy exclaimed, mimicking the sounds of laser guns. He would have made more sound effects if the tower's silence hadn't cut him off. He hadn't not heard the tower since…Well, forever. Even though Raven woke up early and stayed up late, she hadn't either.

"Oh, man," he whispered to her, "this is freaky."

"Yeah…" Beast Boy started walking back to his room and was very, very surprised to see that Raven was following close behind him. He was pretty sure it was just because she figured if she was found alone Starfire would kill her, but he let himself hope it might be for other reasons. He shut the door behind them; he sat on the bed, but she shoved some random items off a chair and sat on that.

Beast Boy thought about what could have gone down. She could have blown up the tower—nope, it was still intact—killed Robin and Cyborg—no, there was no blood here—or, at worst, broken up with Robin once and for all. That was the only thing that could've happened.

Not that he really blamed her. Robin had kept a huge secret from her for such a long time, how could she not hate him? But then again, in his defense, how could he ever tel her soemtnhing like that?

Noneo f this would have happened, though, if he would have just told her off the bat. Beast Boy took a deep breath in, trying to build his confidence (it didn't work), and looked at Raven.

"Raven, do you love me? Like—not like, romantically or whatever but, like, as a friend?" Raven looked at him, baffled. What a weird question, even from Beast Boy.

"I…guess so?"

"So, then, if I did something as horrible as what Robin did, you'd forgive me if I told you right away, right?"

"Beast Boy, what did you—''

"_Right_?"

"…Right."

"Okay," Beast Boy said. He sighed. "Okay. Do you promise…Not to get mad at me when I tell you this? Because at least I'm being honest with you."

"…Okay," said Raven, knowing that she really couldn't keep that promise.

"Promise?"

"Yes."

"Say that you promise."

"I…Promise."

"Like you mean it!"

"Beast Boy, I _promise_ I won't get mad at you."

"Okay, good. Remember that night when I told you I loved you, the night…He left?"

"Why are you bring—''

"Well, see, I have something to tell you." Raven's eyes widened in terror. He didn't—he _couldn't_ have—he wouldn't do that to her—

"That…Wasn't really me that night." Strangely, Raven felt a twang of sadness. So, he didn't really mean it when he said he loved her? Wait, why did that matter? She should be happy.

"What…What do you mean?"

"I mean, it was Jericho. He possessed me."


	8. The Letter Returns

Raven bit her lip. "I…Don't understand."

"Okay. Well. See, I…" Beast Boy paused and sighed, struggling to find the words. "Well, see, that night…I…_Confronted_ Jericho about…You two…And I told him that, you know, that I…That I have…_Feelings_ for you…And he possessed me. Then he went to your room and said what he said, then waited until my body was falling asleep and jumped back to his body, and just sort of left…You hate me, don't you?" Beast Boy's head fell in despair.

"…Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why? Why did he do it?"

"Oh. He, um…Left me a letter…" Beast Boy lifted up his mattress and pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to her. As she read it, her tear ducts filled, but she didn't care—until her tears fell onto the paper and obstructed Jericho's flawless penmanship, when she had to wipe the tears away frequently so they wouldn't destruct this document.

"Raven, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before," he said, but she couldn't hear him.

"He…he loved me…he said he loved me…" Beast Boy's heart must have literally broken into two pieces.

"Well, so did I…" he said meekly.

"But…That was still him…"

"I love you. See, I'm saying it, too."

"Beast Boy, you just don't get it, do you?"

"Raven…He wants us to be together!"

"Beast Boy, I cannot and will not be with you, especially not now!"

"Why not?"

"Because I still love him!" Now, his heart ripped in four. Raven silently walked out of his room and back to hers. She fell on her bed and let he tears silently roll down her face, not bothering to wipe them even as gross as they felt. She knew he'd been acting weird—she should have expected it was Jericho the whole time. But now he was gone, and she was left with stupid, absent-minded, loud, obnoxious Beast Boy.

But he was right—Jericho did say he wanted them to be together. And, for some reason, when she thought of stupid, absent-minded, loud, obnoxious Beast Boy, she couldn't help being calmed a little. He was a good guy, he was just so…Opposite of her. It just didn't make any sense. And she knew, she just _knew_ Jericho would come back for her if he really did love her. One of these days, he'd come back for her, she just knew it. He would, because he loved her.

"_I loved Raven. Truly, I did, and a part of me always will, but I could never love her as truly as you."_ The excerpt kept ringing through her mind. So what? He still loved her and that was all that mattered. But what if he never did come back? Would she be waiting this whole time for him for nothing? And hwat if he was right—what if Beast Boy was better for her? But he wasn't. There was no way stupid, absent-minded, loud, obnoxious Beast Boy could be better for her than her sweet, caring, compassionate, understanding Jericho.

But…What if he was?

But he _wasn't_.

Raven was truly torn.


	9. SOS

"Robin?" whispered Cyborg, knocking lightly on his door. Truthfully, he didn't want Robin to answer, because if Robin answered he would be mad. No matter what had happened between him and Starfire—though Cyborg knew it wasn't good—Robin would not be happy with Cyborg. Cyborg knew, though, that he'd have to talk to Robin one day. He couldn't just hide away forever.

Or…_Could he_? Yeah, he could just lock himself in his room forever until they were in battle, and then he would fight and go right back to his room.

Ooh, wait, no—he definitely didn't want to be around Robin in a battle. The chance of "accidental" friendly fire was way too high.

Maybe Cyborg just wouldn't fight. He could use his electronic body to be the best b-boy ever. He would be in a break dancing troupe that traveled the country and performed at clubs. He would live as a hermit, traveling with the troupe from club to club in a bus. He could just never do a club in Jump City.

But that plan made it too possible for Cyborg to become famous. Maybe if he built a really, really great submarine—

"Cyborg, what do you want?" said Robin at the now open door. Cyborg jumped back.

"I—um—I wanted to say sorry." Robin sighed, and cast his glare off to the side.

"It—it's not your fault. I should have told her earlier. No—I never should have done it."

"Well, you know, it's just a fight. She'll get over it—''

"No. It wasn't just a fight, Cyborg. She…She broke up with me."

"She _what_?!" yelled Cyborg.

"If you were her you would, too."

"Hey, I wouldn't be going out with you in the first place, thank you very much!" Robin glared at him. "You know what I mean, man. But seriously, like, I know she'll come around…"

"Yeah. Right. Anyway…You should probably go check on Beast Boy and Raven. I heard them talking and it didn't sound good."

"Aw, man, it's always something with those two!" Cyborg said angrily as he walked out of Robin's room down the hall. Robin retreated back to him room and sat down at his computer desk. He moved his mouse over to Blackfire's message and opened it. Her face projected itself onto the screen, and she said her message again. She'd even included coordinates to the jail. She couldn't possibly think he'd _actually_ break her out of a jail. Blackfire could be a bad person, but she was definitely no idiot.

Just as he almost opened the file with the coordinates on it, the alarm sounded. All of the titans seemed reluctant to assemble together, but they had work to do.

"We're getting an S.O.S. from a ship just outside the orbit," said Robin, and played the message. It was in a foreign language that Robin couldn't understand, though it sounded familiar.

"What's he saying?" asked Cyborg, looking baffled.

"He is saying that he is being attacked," said Starfire. "He is speaking…Tamaranian."

"Titans, to the—'' Robin started.

"No," said Starfire, interjecting, "I will go alone."

"But, Star, you can't—''

"I do not need you to protect me!" she yelled at him, "I will go alone!" Starfire flew off to the garage—the Titans could all hear her fly off in their space ship.

"Well," said Cyborg, "I guess that's that." Wordlessly, the titans all retreated back to their rooms.


	10. Nero

It was a very, very short flight before Starfire reached the Tamaranian ship. It wasn't actually Tamaranian, the ship—it wasn't really anything. It was sort of…Everything. Every language Starfire had ever learned and thousands more were written on the worn-down looking ship. The thing looked like it would fall apart any second now. She boarded the ship, seeing that the inside was a 180-degree difference; everything was perfectly organized and clean. She was immediately greeted by a boy about her age and just a little taller than her. He had straight black hair and black eyes that were almost intimidating, even to Starfire.

"You must be one of the Titans," he said in Tamaranian, his voice low and husky. "Where are all of the others?"

"I am the only one who speaks Tamaranian," she replied, being held absolutely still by his gaze.

"You mean Tamaranian is not something they speak on Earth?"

"No, it is not."

"I think this is the first time I've been wrong about something…" it seemed a little conceited to Starfire for him to say that, but he soon explained: "I've got a power—like whatever it is you have. I know things."

"That is…A power?"

"I mean, I know anything I want to know."

"You know…Anything you want to know?"

"Your name is Starfire, you're a Tamaranian Princess—forgive me, majesty, for my rudeness—'' he bowed to her, and continued, "your powers are that you can produce star bolts and you can fly, your favorite color is pink—no, purple—green—oh, it's all of them. Your favorite number is shplorzbleck, your favorite food is mustard, and…You just broke up with your boyfriend." Starfire blushed.

"Nice to meet you, majesty—oh, I'm sorry. You don't want to call me that. Nice to meet you, Starfire. They call me Nero."

"It is very nice to meet you, Nero."

"You want to know what happened—okay, well," he said, leading her further into the ship where he pushed a button on a table and a hologram map of the universe popped up, "I was flying past this meteor belt when this ship came up behind me and started shooting at me like crazy. No, I didn't recognize the ship. I warded them off with a few shots, and kept on flying. Then, a few hours later, they were back. They've been tailing me on and off for the last couple of days. They were here last when I sent you guys the S.O.S. Yes, my ship is about to fall apart and if we don't find a place to land soon, we both could die."

"We shall go back to my ship and fly back to earth. However, I do not know how your ship will last."

"It wouldn't either way. Are you sure the Titans wouldn't mind me being there?"

"They…May."

"Then I shouldn't come."

"What are we to do?"

"We could…" he paused, 'Wait a second, hold on…" He paused again, thinking. "We'll fly around until we can get the people who've been tailing me cornered somehow, and we'll board their ship and report them to authorities. I will need your help. You should contact the other Titans and tell them who I am and what we're doing and where you'll be. Yes, you have to tell you ex-boyfriend, too. Hurry, I think my ship's engines just gave out." The two nearly ran back on to Starfire's ship, where she called the other Titans on their communicators. Robin didn't reply, but she knew he got the message. Robin never went anywhere without his communicator.


	11. A Real Jerk

"So, you guys have had bad experiences with people staying at your place?" Nero asked. Starfire was glad to be in the new ship, where all the Titans could sit together instead of in pods; it was meant for longer rides versus battles. It was more comfortable, but a little less practical.

"Yes," said Starfire, "very."

"So, you've had two broken hearts so far—Beast Boy with Tara and Raven with Jericho? Oh, wow, Jericho was just recently, huh? Too bad, too bad. No wonder you said I shouldn't come with you. Yeah, you're right. Your ex would totally hate my company. Jealous type. You know, he shouldn't be threatened, I'm not all that attractive. Oh, really? I am? Well, thanks, Starfire." Starfire blushed pure red as Nero smirked.

"You make me…Most uncomfortable…When you do not let me answer your questions for myself. And you make me even more uncomfortable when you read my mind. Please do not do that anymore."

"Sorry." Strangely, strong, confident Nero blushed a little. "I don't try to, you know. It just happens. I'm not usually around people, so I'm not used to…Letting people talk. I'm not very good at controlling my mind."

"It is…Okay."

"Yeah, I know, you dealt with that but way worse with Tara."

"You are doing it again."

"Sorry."

"It is okay."

"So…What happened to you and Robin?"

"I am sure you already know."

"I don't. I didn't pry that much, and I'm still trying very hard to control my mind, so if you could…Hurry?"

"You are very rude." Starfire said it stiffly. She wish she would've known what his company would be like before she agreed to flying around with him for what could be a full week, depending on how much fuel and supplies they had.

"I'm sorry, but it's really, really hard to—''

"He did…The cheating."

"He _what_? Oh, he cheated on you, got it. How long have you been on earth? Oh, that long? Wow, I'm more fluent than you are—''

"You are very, very rude!" said Starfire, blushing again. She hated always feeling stupid.

"You're not stupid. I can tell you're extremely intelligent. So what if you haven't completely changed to conform to what earth says you should be? I don't think you should. I like that you've still got a bit of Tamaran in you. Not to mention, it's…Cute when you mess up phrases a little." This made Starfire blush even more.

"I do not think it is… 'Cute'…To be laughed at."

"Star—can I call you Star? Starfire is so long—Okay, Star—I promise that nobody is laughing at you. And if they are, just…Punch 'em or something."

"You speak much like my friend Beast Boy for having such a power."

"It's slang—it just sort of comes with the package when I learn a new language. Like, for instance, when I learned Tamaranian, I didn't learn any slang or contractions at all."

"But you do not use…Your vocabulary to your advantage."

"What, do you want me to sound like some know-it-all? Oh, right, I already do. I forgot. Well, it's just…When I'm around people, I try my hardest to not sound like I have this…Thing. God, a potentially infinite knowledge and the best I can think up is 'thing'? I try my hardest not to sound like I have this ability, skill, power, adeptness, capability, strength, endowment, aptitude, talent, craft, knack, savvy, proficiency, flair, gift, deftness, forte, adroitness, or technique." Starfire's eyes were wide. "_That's_ the reason I try to sound normal. And trust me, that was just scratching the surface. I hadn't even wondered about other words for what I have—those were the simplest words to think up."

Starfire knew they were simple words—she'd even heard Beast Boy use some of them before (obviously not "adroitness" or "deftness", but definitely "knack" and "talent")—what astounded her was that she was still struggling with sentence fluency when this boy didn't even live on earth.

"Star, don't feel bad. That's stupid and you know it. Anyway, so, you never finished your story about you and Robin and it's really, _really_ hard not to just read your mind right now, so if you could just—''

"I do not know what else there is to say."

"With your _sister_?!"

"Very, very, very rude—!''

"With your _sister_?! Why are you going out with this guy?"

"Robin and I have had the feelings for each other—''

"But he cheated on you with your sister!"

"Me sister is…Not nice."

"Apparently! She had—''

"Please do not finish your sentence, for I did not finish mine! My sister is…The…Manipulative. She makes others do things they do not want to do."

"How old is Robin? Yeah, I can promise you, if your sister looks anything like you—oh, _that's_ what she looks like? Sorry, but you were picturing her—anyway, you're prettier, but, c'mon…He's a teenage guy. What do you expect?"

"I expect our feelings to be respected and treasured as they should be by any proper friendboy!" yelled Starfire, whose eyes were glowing in rage.

"You have every right to want your feelings to be respected and treasured, Star. It's a good thing you ditched this guy. He sounds like a real jerk."

"Yes. He is. A real…Jerk."


End file.
